Whine it out

I am very much against the Cry it Out method in order to get an infant to self sooth enough to fall asleep.

It does not work for me, or my family and with our bedtime routine firmly established, I feel that it's unnecessary. Having said that, Monster has begun fighting sleep recently. I blame the evil "4 month sleep regression" for transforming my contented happy little boy into a whiny mess at bedtime.

I am lucky, because the 4 month sleep regression effects other families very differently. Some infants regression results in multiple middle-of-the-night wake up sessions! Yes, I am damn lucky and I know it.

We did pick up a form of the Cry it Out method when this whole 4 month sleep regression started. I like to call it "Whine it Out". Monster (and I'm sure other infants) tends to make this whiny humming noise when he's tired, but trying to fight sleep. At first I would run to him in his room at any peep to "soothe" him so that he'd know I was always here for him.

Now that we've developed a trusting relationship, I only run to him if he really gets himself worked up. Most nights I don't even have to go back into his bedroom at all. I will lie him down, with the pacifier in his mouth, and he will hum-whine to himself for about 5 or so minutes before going to sleep on his own.

The reason we've developed that system is because, to him it doesn't matter if I'm rocking him to sleep, or he's lying in his crib alone, he will still do the hum-whine until he falls asleep.